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· 28 · 4 They are not tramps as has been reported, but notorious characters residing in the vicinity of Grove City, a small village in the northern part of Christian County. —Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1882 sheriff Haines knew what the people of his jurisdiction wanted, and he wasted no time in giving it to them. Within twenty-four hours, he had three local men in custody for the horrendous crime against emma Bond. The accused had themselves, more than anyone, to thank for their speedy arrests; their strange behavior and remarks the day after the crime suggested a possible involvement. The first man arrested had acted most suspiciously of all. When picked up on Friday, emanuel Clementi was hanging around the Blue mound depot, supposedly waiting for the 4:19 p.m. train to st. Louis. After leaving Lee and mrs. Pettus just after dawn, he turned up at George Housley’s door at about five o’clock. He seemed to know the Housleys owned some very fast mounts; George’s brother Hank had long been involved in the business of race horses. However, he seemed unaware George was emma’s uncle when he asked to borrow George’s “best horse” so he could ride toward Blue mound in search of “some tramps who had outraged miss Bond at the schoolhouse .”1 upon hearing the shocking news, George willingly saddled one of his horses and handed it over to Clementi. The village of Blue mound sat about eight miles east of the Grove, just over the macon County line. The place had its own tiny train depot, which offered more convenience to the people of northern Christian County than did the larger station in Taylorville. shortly after borrowing the horse and while making his way toward Blue mound, Clementi ran into a local man named James Armstrong. James was the brother of Bill Armstrong, another of emma’s many uncles; Bill was married to Becky Housley, emma’s aunt. Clementi stopped just long enough to tell Armstrong of the crime. Then, without explanation, he reined his horse around and headed back west, toward the Grove. the crime and the investigation · 29 Later that morning, three local men passing near the schoolhouse also ran into Clementi. To Pleasant Venters, John Hawkins, and C. F. Knight, he repeated the story of the attack and his plan to track the two culprits toward Blue mound. After talking, the group—Clementi included—decided to form a scouting party to track down the brutes. The four headed off in the direction of Blue mound, based solely on the word of the farmhand. After going only a short distance, however, Clementi suddenly stopped—saying he was going to cut across the fields to search for signs of the assailants. He promised to rejoin the others on the road near Armstrong’s place. Clementi then veered off into the Pettus pasture, still soft from Wednesday night’s heavy rain, while the others continued eastward on the road. yet when the others arrived at the designated rendezvous, they were left waiting for Clementi far longer than expected. He should have easily beaten them to their meeting place. And something else was gnawing at them: each had noticed the inappropriate manner in which he had spoken of the rape. Later, they would say that they were taken aback by how he “frequently laughed in speaking of the affair.”2 Growing weary of waiting, the three decided to return to the spot in the road where Clementi had split off. There, they set out across the Pettus pasture. one of them knew that his mount belonged to George Housley and that it was shoed; this made horse and rider easier to track. Traversing the Pettus property, they came upon a spot where other tracks appeared to join up with Clementi’s. it appeared as if the farmhand had met up near a small bridge with someone on a mule and someone else on horseback. it also looked like the three riders had milled about, without dismounting, while their animals grazed on the weeds underfoot. Just how long it took the men to catch up with Clementi is unclear, but all four finally rode into Blue mound around nine o’clock in the morning. There, they ran into C. H. Crosley, the local train agent, and a lively discussion ensued about possible suspects. Crosley said he had noticed two strangers hanging around the village the night before. Hotelkeeper John stumpf approached...
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